Squat, wall-like, concrete traffic barricades have long been used for temporarily dividing road lanes and cordoning off construction areas. After the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, and even more so after the events of Sep. 11, 2001; however, such barriers were put in place around most key government buildings, e.g., the White House area and federal courthouses. This was done to prevent vehicles from being easily parked in close proximity to buildings for nefarious purposes, except at designated areas where illegal activity could be identified and prevented, e.g., guarded entryways and loading docks.
While conventional concrete barricades work fairly well, they are completely functional in nature and, as such, quite unattractive and unpleasing from an aesthetic sense. In fact, put frankly, the prolific use of concrete barricades around government buildings (mostly located in heavily traveled downtown areas) has resulted in something of an urban blight. For example, while the typical federal courthouse might be architecturally attractive or at least inoffensive, deploying an array or line of standard concrete barriers around such buildings results in the unpleasant appearance of a construction area or “war zone.”
Because of this, it became apparent that there was a need for “hardened” street furniture and “transparent defenses” meeting certain criteria including: simplicity; attractiveness; capability for use as a perimeter barrier around secure locations; ability for appearance modification; ability for mass production using a number of materials; the possibility of different component dimensions; rigidity; and the ability to convert the materials to meet varying security requirements.
Accordingly, a primary object of the present invention is to provide a security bench with the above-noted qualities that functions as an improved barrier against vehicular access and explosive force, and that acts as a functional and comfortable street bench.